Representing the 3rd District of Nevada

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WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Today, Congresswoman Jacky Rosen (NV-03) introduced the Pulled Pork Act with Republican Congressman Walter B. Jones (NC-03). This bipartisan legislation would prohibit spending any taxpayer dollars in the form of earmarks. The Pulled Pork Act is being introduced on the same day that Republicans are holding hearings on bringing back earmarks.

“Congress made the right decision when it ended the practice of earmarks,” said Congresswoman Rosen. “Earmarks represent a return to political favoritism, unethical practices, and wasteful government spending. Our constituents deserve better and I believe that compromise, not pork barrel projects, is how we cut through partisan gridlock. I’ll continue working to put Nevada families first by reaching across the aisle to find issues that both Democrats and Republicans agree on, and not through the politics of bribery that this administration is looking to embrace.”

“For years, earmarks wrought corruption and ballooned the national deficit. That is why they were banned by the House of Representatives and Senate in 2011,” said Congressman Jones. “We mustn’t return to this wasteful manner of spending. We must remain resolute in our ethical governance.”

BACKGROUND: Congresswoman Rosen’s bipartisan Pulled Pork Act would effectively prevent Congress from reinstating earmarks. Each federal agency would identify earmarked funds allocated to them by Congress and report those earmarks to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), which would publish a list of attempted earmarks and the annual savings resulting from the inability to spend those funds. The bill would immediately return any agency’s improperly earmarked funds to the U.S. Treasury.

In her first term as a Congresswoman, Rosen has supported a number of legislative measures to root out government waste. Rosen is a co-sponsor of Republican Rep. Claudia Tenney’s (NY-22) No Pensions for Corrupt Politicians Act, which would close an existing loophole that allows members of Congress convicted of bribery, perjury, conspiracy or other related crimes to continue collecting their taxpayer-funded pension. Rosen has also supported efforts to end the abuse of taxpayer dollars. In March, Rosen sent a bipartisan letter to House appropriators along with Rep. Walter Jones (NC-03) urging them to prohibit the use of taxpayer money for first-class flights for Members of Congress, and in July, Rosen co-sponsored a bill that would help prevent U.S. taxpayer money from going to corrupt foreign governments.